In 1937 the Roman Catholic periodical Commonweal came out with an ardent statement on American response to the Spanish Civil War. "The New York newspapers," it said, "omitted all mention of the extraordinary fact that 15,000 people in [Madison Square] Garden cheered to the echo all references . . . to the conviction shared by so many that the American press is displaying partizanship [sic] in favor of the Reds and neglecting to tell the truth concerning the aims, ideals and activities of [Francisco Franco's] Nationalist government and its army and continuing to keep a veil of silence over the slaughter of more than 150,000 Catholic non-combatants by the Communists and Anarchists controlling a government which a dominant section of the American press terms 'a democratic, representative government worthy of the support of democratic, representative Americans.' "

Source:

"American Committee for Spanish Relief," Commonweal, 26 (4 June...